17 Under the stewardship of Isiah Thomas, the Knicks might be the biggest mess in professional sports. Enough of a mess to make New York hoop fans envious of the rebuilding Celtics, who visit Madison Square Garden for an exhibition game.

FS, 7:30 p.m.

18 The Penguins aren't coming to Hartford, so what's next for the city's NHL pursuit? The Nashville Predators are among a few teams that could be mobile, so check them out against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Or watch it to see old friend -- or to some, foe -- Brendan Shanahan skate for the Rangers.

MSG, 7 p.m.

19 The old Boston Garden was home to a famous 6-foot-9 athlete who wore No. 33. The TD Banknorth Garden will be home to a 6-9 athlete with 33 on his jersey, as the Bruins host the Flames in their first home game. Larry Bird, meet Zdeno Chara.

NESN, 7 p.m.

20 The crowd will be in a celebratory mood at Rentschler Field because it's homecoming for UConn. We'll see how much celebrating the Huskies do on the field, as No. 5 West Virginia swaggers into East Hartford.

ESPN, 8 p.m.

21 The past two World Series offered little intrigue -- the Red Sox swept the Cardinals in 2004 and the White Sox swept the Astros in 2005. Will it be a competitive Series this year, or will we rely on Fox to provide the prepackaged drama? Rupert Murdoch's network has the games.